BMW 3-series / M3 Named Car and Driver's 10 Best for 20th consecutive year

Quote:

This year marks the 3-series' 20th consecutive 10Best win, a feat unmatched by any other vehicle on the market. We won’t call the 3-series perfect, but you know how there’s always one old lady at the bake sale whose recipe everybody wants? The 3-series is that car. The chassis balance is exquisite, with handling that encourages risky behavior but a ride that you wouldn’t feel bad subjecting your grandma to. The fluid steering weights up just right, the brake pedal bypasses the soles of your shoes and goes straight to your brain, and the manual transmission—should you be wise enough to specify it—boasts a shifter that knows its way effortlessly from gear to gear. Plus, all the 3-series’ goodness is available in coupe, convertible, sedan, and even station-wagon forms. Engine choices are a silky inline-six; powerful, turbocharged inline-sixes; and the M3’s screaming, 8400-rpm V-8. The 3-series is rear-drive dynamics perfected, or, for those in colder climes, all-wheel drive is available. The four-wheeler gets a little heavier and amends the 3’s near-perfect weight distribution, but the rest of its virtues remain. Other drawbacks? Only a few. The clutch needs more weight to better convey its takeup, and no matter the configuration, the 3-series is seriously expensive. But there’s a reason people will pay so much more for that one lady’s cookies. - via http://www.caranddriver.com/features...s_2f_m3_page_2

many can nick pick about the 3-series or brag about how much more equipped on other brands...but BMW knows how to make a great sports sedan/coupe/convertible/wagon....like the article said "the good old recipe"....

in the future there's more "variety" of the 3-series...such as diesel, alternate fuel, and maybe even hybrid to meet even strict environmental regulations....but the soul remains as a sports sedan/coupe/convert/wagon...

I've been waiting for this list since September. The list is pretty much the same as last year's except I guess for the Volt and will probably be pretty much the same 10 years from now when the GTI will have 208 hp and the 328i (then known as the 378i) will have a ZF 12 speed AT and do 0-60 in 6.2 seconds. At that time I predict 335i owners will finally win their first HPFP class action lawsuit, making their attorneys fabulously wealthy. The 378i will have won its 4th C&D comparo.

I've been waiting for this list since September. The list is pretty much the same as last year's except I guess for the Volt and will probably be pretty much the same 10 years from now when the GTI will have 208 hp and the 328i (then known as the 378i) will have a ZF 12 speed AT and do 0-60 in 6.2 seconds. At that time I predict 335i owners will finally win their first HPFP class action lawsuit, making their attorneys fabulously wealthy. The 378i will have won its 4th C&D comparo.

Everytime I see a 328 disappearing in my rearview mirror I think "Gee, i'm really glad they won that comparo".